Although a licensed pest control operator will probably perform these tasks more effectively, safely and legally, they can be expensive, especially for a whole house.
If you want to do it yourself, these steps to getting rid of bed bugs will help you:
Start off by finding the bed bugs. Sometimes easier said than done; their flat shape enables them to fit into barely noticeable crevices the width of a credit card.
Instead of ineffectual generalised spraying, arm yourself with a bright flashlight and target their nests. Search for adults, juniors and eggs, noting that sometimes individual eggs are scattered all over the home.
Dismantle bed frames and stand the components on their edges. Look for the bugs themselves and the light-brown molted skins of the nymphs. Remove the gauze fabric under the box spring in order to inspect and treat because there is a good chance they are inside your mattress. Check under the fabric stapled to the frame in the box springs.
Holes or tears in the gauze or fabric of the mattress probably means bed bugs and eggs will be inside. Because restrictions apply to treating mattresses with insecticides, pest control firms recommend infested beds be thrown out. But even if you do that, you need to get rid of the bed bugs already in your home, otherwise the new mattress will become infested too.
Cracks and crevices of bed frames, attached side railings and supports, head and foot boards all need to be closely examined, especially if the frame is wood. Bedbugs prefer fabric, wood and paper more so than metal or plastic.
If you cannot afford to replace the bed, vacuum it thoroughly. Brushing also helps. Try treating your bed with a portable steam machine. It helps but will not kill the bugs and eggs hidden inside the box spring or mattress.
Apply insecticide on the mattress, box springs and bed components without spraying the mattress surface, bed sheets, blankets or clothing.
After spraying and dusting, encase your mattress in one and the box spring in another sealable cover. If you just cover your mattress and box spring with plastic, the bed bugs will chew right through it. Cloth is probably more comfortable and more secure. Allergy supply companies sell zippered encasements for dust mite prevention.
Keeping the mattress covers sealed for a year or 18 months ensures you destroy the bug's life cycle. Inspect the bag regularly for damage; if you find any holes or tears, seal them with permanent tape and any trapped bugs will eventually die.
Only apply insecticide to a mattress if the product label specifically mentions it, and very few do. Should you find one, apply it as a light mist to the entire mattress, opening seams, tufts, and folds so the chemical penetrates these hiding places. Allow it to dry completely before using. Never sleep directly on a treated mattress without bed linen and do not treat mattresses of infants or ill people.
To stop bed bugs from crawling onto a bed, pull the bed frame away from the wall, tuck sheets and blankets in so they are off the floor and stand the legs of the bed in little dishes of mineral oil, or water with a drop of dish washing liquid.
Remove and inspect headboards secured to walls since this is one of the first places the bugs head for. They also hide among stuff stored under the bed.
Empty night stands and dressers, remove drawers, examine them inside and out, then turn them over to inspect underneath, looking for cracks, corners, and recesses.
Check upholstered chairs and sofas, carefully inspecting seams, tufts, skirts, and crevices beneath cushions, especially when used for sleeping.
Bed bugs like crawling upwards to hide in pictures, wall hangings, drapery pleats, loosened wallpaper, cracks in the plaster and ceiling-wall junctures.
Other common places to find bed bugs:
- Electrical boxes
- Floor cracks
- Cracks in wood molding
- Wall paper seams
- Beneath loose wallpaper near the bed
- Inside radios, phones, clocks, television sets and smoke detectors. When open, tap the smaller appliances into a bag or on sticky tape so the bugs do not jump and hide
- Under the tack board of wall-to-wall carpeting, especially behind beds and furniture.
- Amongst clothing stored in closets
- In laundry
- Within wicker furniture
- Secondhand beds, bedding and furniture; newer mattresses offer less hiding places.
Since infested bedding, curtains, pyjamas, garments and soft toys cannot be treated with insecticide, they need to be bagged and laundered in hot water, 120 degrees Fahrenheit minimum and dried using the hot setting, or discarded. When fully dry and very hot, dry them for another 20 minutes in the dryer and not naturally on the clothes line.
Dry cleaning works too but either tell the dry cleaner they are infested, or before you take the items to him, place them dry into a clothes dryer at moderate setting which will be below 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
The same with toys, shoes, backpacks and items not washable; heat them in a clothes dryer for 20 minutes. Or wrap them in black plastic bags and expose them to direct sunlight for at least a few days.
After washing, drying and dry cleaning, bag the items in sealed, airtight bags until you next use them.
Bedbugs also die when exposed to below freezing temperatures for at least two weeks. So if you have the space you can put some items in the freezer. Raising or lowering the thermostat is not good enough.
Overall cleanliness is key, so start by thoroughly cleaning the infested rooms as well as adjoining ones. Vacuum accumulated dirt and debris. Dislodge eggs by scrubbing infested surfaces with a stiff brush and reduce clutter to limit places they can hide.
With a powerful suction to remove bed bugs from cracks and crevices, vacuum along baseboards, around bed stands, headboards, footboards, mattress seams, tufts, buttons, edges of the bedding, edges of carpets, especially along the tack strips to remove bugs and eggs. When finished dispose of the vacuum cleaner bag by sealing it in a trash bag.
Steam clean the carpets to kill bugs and eggs which vacuuming may have missed. Steam cleaning does not work for mattresses though; it can lead to mold, mildew and dust mites.
Treat your home with a product whose label specifies bed bug control and it must have a long lasting residual effects, otherwise they will return.
Carefully read the label and apply only if you fully understand the instructions. Do NOT apply any insecticide or pesticide to mattresses or surfaces which are in direct contact with a person unless the label specifically says so. Some products contain chemicals not safe for people and pets.
Bug treatment products are usually one of three types:
1. Insecticidal dusts
Contain finely ground glass or silica powder and cause the bugs to dry out. Apply only to cracks, crevices, wall voids, attics and hollows, for example a tubular bed frame; these are places where bed bugs hide. Do not spread dust over carpets or under carpets where people or animals tread.
2. Contact insecticides
Contain one or more pyrethoids which knock down and kill bugs shortly after contact. Should be applied as spot treatments to cracks and crevices where bed bugs hide.
3. Insect growth regulators
These affect the reproduction cycle of insects and reduce populations. They do not kill quickly so often supplement other insecticides as part of the overall bed bug treatment plan.
Products available to consumers with the ingredients pyrethrin, resmethrin (0.3% spray) and allethrin are effective. Others even more potent may only be used by professionals.
Protect all food and eating utensils from insecticides. After ten days, apply a second treatment to kill the hatching nymphs. And after another ten days, a third treatment.
Changes you need to make around your home
Caulk and seal all holes. Fill all cracks and crevices in the walls, around baseboards and moldings. Repair cracks in plaster and glue down loosened wallpaper.
For your protection, remove nests or roosts of birds and bats in and on the home, and seal all screen openings.
As a home remedy you can try sprinkle boric acid powder in their nests but not directly on your mattress.
Inorganic materials, such as diatomaceous earth, also known as silica dioxide or silicone dioxide, and silica aerogel may kill them but are unlikely to sort out your whole problem. Try spreading this non-toxic powder you buy from feed and supply stores, around the perimeter of your room and when the bed bugs cross the powder, they coat themselves in it, become dehydrated and die. Also insert in crevices and cracks.
Baits and adhesive-based traps do not work for bedbugs. Neither do foggers, bug bombs or total release aerosol insecticides; they actually scatter the bedbugs and make extermination more difficult.
Natural remedies like undiluted tea tree oil may give limited relief but are unlikely to eliminate a bed bug infestation.
Some home remedies include applying bleach which kills on contact and spraying hot steam from a high powered steam cleaner into cracks for three seconds at a time.
But bed bugs are persistent, resilient insects. They can withstand the heat up to 100 degree temperatures, a short spell in your freezer, multiple pest control treatments and can live for a year without eating. If you want to completely get rid of them, you need to aggressively persist until you no longer get bitten and there are no longer any signs of habitation.
